Article attaching means



Nov. 9, 1954 K. J. CLARK ARTICLE ATTACHING MEANS Filed Aug. 20, 1948 I /IVJ mmvron alffi/eeru/ Clark irrBA/Ey United States Patent 3 Claims.

The invention described herein, manufactured and used by or for governmental purposes without the any royalty thereon.

This invention relates primarily to insignia such as worn on the collars, etc., of personnel of the Armed Forces, but, as will appear hereinafter, has many other uses.

One object of the invention resides in the provision of a display button or the like in combination with means for releasably securing the same on a garment without mutilating the latter by stitching, snap fasteners, or the like.

A further object of the invention consists in providing a display button detachably connected with a backing of paramagnetic material to serve as an armature for a permanent magnet to be used in releasably securing the button in place.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the upper or collar portion of an army jacket with the novel button arranged thereon;

Figure 2 is an exploded view showing the several parts in perspective; and

Figure 3 is a sectional view through the button as attached to a garment.

While the display button, as disclosed herein, may be used on various types of garments, a jacket such as worn by Army personnel is disclosed on the drawings. This jacket is indicated generally by the numeral 1, and is, of course, provided with the usual collar 2 and the novel display button or insignia is designated generally by the numeral 3 in Figure 1.

The button itself comprises an element 4, which may be in the form of any preferred type of insignia, and a backing 5, in the form of a disc, although it is obvious that the front and back elements may be of any desired contour or outline. The insignia or design may be formed of any preferred material, but preferably will be made of metal, and the backing plate 5 is formed of paramagnetic material. Also, the element 4, which provides the display feature, is provided on its rear face with attaching means for releasably securing it to the backing 5 of paramagnetic material. In the illustrated form, the element 4 is formed with a screw-threaded bolt or projection 6 on its rear face and the backing member 5 is provided with a threaded opening 7 to receive the screwthreaded member 6. By this means it will be apparent that the display button may be readily changed, for instance, from the rank of a lieutenant to that of a captain, etc., or to indicate an entirely diflferent organization, society, etc.

For securing the display button to the garment, a permanent magnet 8 is provided, and this magnet is preferably of the size of the button itself, and is magnetized axially, so as to present North and South Poles in alignment with the button itself. It will be readilv apparent that by this arrangement the button may be mounted in any position desired on the garment by merely placing the magnet 8 on the rear face of the cloth at the point at if patented, may be the Government for payment to me of which the button is to be attached and applying the button with the paramagnetic backing on the opposite side of the cloth in alignment with the magnet. Thus, the button is applied without any multilation of the cloth such as would occur by using stitching, pin fasteners, or the like, and, consequently, presents a clean and unmarred surface, in the event that the button is removed for the purpose of replacement or to place it on another part of the garment.

From the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention provides a display button and attaching means therefor which are relatively inexpensive, and particularly so in view of the fact that the insignia, emblem, or other display feature, may be changed at will, thereby eliminating the necessity of discarding the button when circumstances require a change of insignia, and in view of the fact that the position of the button may be changed from time to time, as occasion warrants, without leaving an unsightly mark on the clothing, such as would be caused by using conventional fastening means, such as pins, snap fasteners, stitching, etc.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described in detail what I now consider to be the preferred form of the invention, but it will be obvious that various minor changes may be made in the structural details without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is intended that all such changes be included within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A display button or the like for comprising a display portion, a circular backing of paramagnetic material provided with a centrally-disposed threaded aperture, a threaded bolt on the rear of the display portion threaded into said aperture, and a permanent magnet of substantially the shape and size of the backing of paramagnetic material to serve as an armature for cooperation with the backing.

2. A garment ornament, comprising a base of nonmagnetic material, said base having a rear surface, a body of paramagnetic material secured to said rear surface and adapted for engagement with an outer surface of a garment, a second body of paramagnetic material adapted for engagement with an inner surface of such garment in opposed relation to said first-named body, said bodies being of substantially the same size and having complementary opposed surfaces, at least one of said bodies comprising a permanent magnet whereby to attract the other body and secure said ornament on said garment solely by magnetic attraction.

3. A garment ornament, comprising a base of nonmagnetic material, said base having a rear surface, a relatively thin body of paramagnetic material fixed to said rear surface and adapted for engagement with an outer surface of a garment, a second relatively thin body of paramagnetic material adapted for engagement with an inner surface of such garment in opposed relation to said first-named body, said bodies being substantially the same size and shape and having complementary opposed surfaces, and at least one of said bodies comprising a permanent magnet whereby to attract the other body and secure said entire rear surface of said ornament snugly against said garment solely by magnetic attraction.

wearing apparel,

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 157,348 Pforzheimer Dec. 1, 1874 1,516,264 Bliss Nov. 18, 1924 1,589,158 Hedison June 15, 1926 1,623,693 Logan Apr. 5, 1927 2,397,931 Ellis Apr. 9, 1946 2,431,827 Rado Dec. 2, 1947 2,517,009 McDermott Aug. 1, 1950 

